By Zarmeen Hassan Somewhere in the wreckage of a peace that never quite arrived, two officials sat across from each other and began crossing names off a list. They were not names of people, but places Muscat, Doha, cities that had quietly hosted months of backchannel diplomacy between two powers that refused direct contact. For nearly a year, Oman had served as the discreet corridor of negotiation, passing messages between American and Iranian delegations. As recently as February 2026, talks there were described as constructive. Then the bombs fell. Iran struck Oman’s ports at Duqm and Salalah  targeting the very state that had tried to mediate. Qatar, too, came under threat, forcing it to step back from its role. One by one, the mediators disappeared. Somewhere beyond that room, the Strait of Hormuz sat closed. A contained conflict was widening. The clock was running. One name remained on the list.It was not an obvious one. It never is. The name on the list was Pakistan. Field Marshal Asim Munir called US President…